The exemplary embodiments relate to apparatus and techniques allowing users to view a three-dimensional (3-D) virtual representation of variable information 3-D structural documents or packages. Variable information print jobs are used in a variety of situations in which multiple printed documents or packages are to be created with fully or partially individualized content. For example, variable information print jobs are used in creating individualized advertisements for mass mailings, wherein the recipient's name and address are different for each printed article, while certain information is common to each printed document or package. Individualized graphics may also be used, for example, were pictures or images of specific products are included on particular advertisements addressed to recipients who are expected to have interest in those products. Variable information print jobs are also used in business related mailings, such as incorporation of particularized customer information into utility bill mailings, incorporation of recipient-specific account data in quarterly banking statements, etc. In this regard, the variable information print job can be described by a print job file that defines text, data, graphics and/or images that will appear on the printed articles, some of which is particularized for a given article.
Structural printed documents or packages (3-D structural documents or packages) are printed articles which have a modifiable three-dimensional form, such as greeting cards that are printed in a flat position and are subsequently folded for insertion into a mailing envelope. Other examples include product boxes, such as for food packaging with printed content on one or more sides. Certain attributes of 3-D structural documents or packages may be specific to the printed content. For example, one or more dimensions of a folded greeting card are determined by the text of a recipient's name or packages for certain food products may have one or more dimensions that vary according to a particular product to be inserted into the package.
3-D structural documents or packages may be created as part of a variable information print job, with text, data, graphics and/or images being particularized for individual items within a large group. Prior to initiating a variable information print job for creating multiple 3-D structural documents or packages, it is desirable to ensure that the prospective produced 3-D structural documents or packages will be what is expected. This is particularly true where a large number of documents or packages are to be produced and/or where the print job is to be performed at and off-site production facility. Recently, Web-to-Print print tools have been provided, which allow a user to direct a print job to off-site production print facilities via the Internet, for instance, to send a high-volume print job to an external printing vendor with lower cost and/or better availability of printing and finishing options than are available in the user's enterprise or organization. Prior to sending a variable information print job off-site for creating produced 3-D structural documents or packages, however, the user would prefer to have a high degree of confidence that the finished articles will look as expected. Document visualization techniques have been proposed in which the user is provided with a two-dimensional view of the document, but these review tools and techniques do not provide a high level of confidence in reference to 3-D variable information structural document or package print jobs. 3-D previewing systems have been proposed in which the user is presented with a movable object view of a single item print job, but these do not provide the ability to easily preview the variation in content, size and/or shape from item to item for variable information print jobs. Thus, improved techniques are desirable to provide users with confidence in finished product quality for produced 3-D variable information structural documents or packages prior to submission of associated print jobs.
U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2003/0035138, published Feb. 20, 2003, entitled INTERNET-BASED CUSTOM PACKAGE-PRINTING PROCESS, to Schilling, discloses processes for package customers to control package selection, design, shipping and payment decisions via the Internet for electronically placing and filling customized package orders, the entirety of which printed publication is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Patent Application Pub. Nos. 2005/0278614 and 2005/0278621, published Dec. 15, 2005, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EFFICIENT PRODUCTION OF DYNAMIC DOCUMENTS, to Aizikowitz et al., disclose production of dynamic documents including producing variable information PDL (VIPDL) output streams from a dynamic document and a recipients list, the entireties of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2010/0098319, published Apr. 22, 2010, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR THE PRODUCTION OF VARIABLE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTED SUBSTRATES, to Gombert et al., discloses a system and method for generating customized printed 3-D objects, the entirety of which printed publication is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2006/0114490, published Jun. 1, 2006, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DOCUMENT PRODUCTION VISUALIZATION, to Rolleston, discloses a system and method for pre-print visualization of a job to be printed. The entirety of this printed publication is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0268513, published Nov. 22, 2007, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PRINT PRODUCTION CONFLICT VISUALIZATION, to Enloe, discloses a method for document print production conflict visualization and resolution. This publication is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. A document and a job ticket for printing are selected, with the job ticket including various document publishing requirements. Conflict analysis is performed to identify at least one conflict among the document publishing requirements and a visualization of each identified conflict is sequentially presented on a user interface. The visualizations utilize graphical clues, superimposed upon the rendering of a 3-D model of the document, to clearly illustrate the nature of each problem, and sequentially show how each available suggested solution would resolve the conflict. The user interface requests approval to proceed with problem resolution if a conflict is identified among the publishing requirements or indicates that no conflict is present.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/026,435, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING A THREE-DIMENSIONAL PREVIEW OF A FINISHED DOCUMENT, filed Feb. 14, 2011 to Dangler, et al. describes three-dimensional previewing a finished document based on a key feature analysis, in which the document is analyzed by a document analysis algorithm configured in association with a document visualization module in order to identify a number of key features associated with the document. A viewing script is created with respect to the key features, and a document-specific visual animation of the key features is displayed based on the viewing script at a user interface in order to preview the finished document. The entirety of this patent application is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,134,568 and 6,616,702, both to Tonkin, are directed to selecting components for assembly of a document, and previewing a simulation of an assembled document prior to physical assembly. The entireties of these patents are hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,948,115 and 7,406,194, both to Aizikowitz et al., are directed to efficiently producing dynamic documents including production of VIPDL output streams from a dynamic document and a recipients list, the entireties of which patents are hereby incorporated by reference.